The Sword Outwears Its Sheath
by pyrrhicvictoly
Summary: He lived for his Emperor, he died for his Emperor, and he lives on for his Emperor. Zero gives Nunnally a hint about Lelouch's final plan. Post-series, implied SuzaLulu.


**The Sword Outwears its Sheath**

A/N: This was inspired by Lord Byron's poem, So We'll Go No More a-Roving. The quote is appropriate because Lelouch is a _Byronic_ hero. Haha? Get it? Cookies for anyone who wants to look up and over-analyze the poem. Cake for anyone who gets some of my crappy poem-based symbolism. (Okay, yes, the title can be taken as a dirty joke, but it's not really meant to be.)

Edited 8/18 - Fixed a few things here and there. Much thanks to the anonymous reviewer who pointed out the two OOC spots - I've taken them out. (Seriously, you're a mind reader. But how did you know those were the exact two sentences I kept removing and putting back in?! Haha...) Thank you all for reading!

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_For the sword outwears its sheath,_

_And the soul wears out the breast,_

_And the heart must pause for breath,_

_And love itself have rest._

_-Lord Byron_

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Zero strode toward the Imperial Cemetery on his way to collect the Empress Nunnally. Various government officials had decided to call a last-minute meeting regarding Britannia's stance on a new trade agreement with the EU. As with most things, it required the presence of Her Majesty, if only as a figurehead, but she was nowhere to be found. She disappeared around the same time each day, and was extremely tight-lipped about it to all of the officials.

It was Zero, however, who always knew where to find her. When she was staying at the palace, Nunnally would, like clockwork, make solo trips to the cemetery every day to be with her brother, and to sit with him under the warm sunlight. Zero knew this because he made the same trip every night, to mourn the same man, and to sit with him under the cool moonlight. He envied her, sometimes, for the ability to grieve openly.

Like everything he did, Zero's visits were shrouded in secrecy. When he was caught staring at the headstone once, by Gino no less, Zero had simply said, "There are some questions I wanted to ask him."

Gino, giving a crooked smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, had turned back around to regard the smaller tomb off to the side, the bodiless one that held the soul of the Emperor's sword, the Knight of Zero. "Yeah, me too."

The knights were sometimes interred beside their princes or princesses to protect them in the afterlife. Though Kururugi had also been Euphemia's personal knight, Cornelia, and Nunnally as well, had thought it for the best that he be laid to rest by his Emperor.

Zero crossed the cemetery gates, making his way across the immaculately tended gardens and up a quiet hill to approach the frail girl, cape billowing silently behind him. Although he knew Kururugi's grave was also there, and he knew Gino had come by to pay his respects more than the once, it was still a surprise to see Nunnally whispering to the smaller tomb instead of to her brother.

"Your Majesty," he interrupted, "you are needed in the main conference room to discuss the trade agreement."

Nunnally turned to look at the masked man, her cornflower blue eyes boring into the glossy black faceplate with such intensity that it seemed like she could have pierced through his very soul, if he had still had one to call his own. Perhaps, he thought, a lifetime of blindness had taught her to see in other ways. She cocked her head to the side, holding herself with that serious, stately countenance that the Empress affected so well these days.

"Suzaku?" she asked softly.

To him, it was an accusation. His breathing sped up and he fought to keep his hands unclenched, hoping that she missed the way Zero's fingers twitched at her inquiry. Behind the mask, sweat dotted his brow and his eyes dilated wildly. A small part of his mind, the part that still called itself Suzaku, was shouting in desperation. _Yes! Look at me, Nunnally__! See me, Nunnally__!_

He would cry to her the way she used to cry to him when they were children. He would throw off that hated mask, and he would sink to his knees before her, begging for forgiveness. They would talk about Lelouch, and, in the presence of the only other person who could possibly understand the prince, Suzaku would finally allow himself to scream and wail and bawl his eyes out in grief. He would finally get his chance to mourn out in the open.

Those dreams… Suzaku remembered the dreams he and Lelouch rasped in each other's ears as they frantically made love on borrowed time. They would tell Nunnally everything, and she would understand. Somehow, they would liberate the world and retire to the mountains. To Japan. Lelouch, Suzaku, and Nunnally, just like old times.

And then Lelouch had looked up at him with fever-bright violet eyes and said, hands cold and voice wavering, that he didn't want to die. It was at that moment that Suzaku remembered how young they really were. But… if Lelouch couldn't be there with them, then the former prince wanted to be assured that it would be Suzaku and Nunnally, just like old times. Oh, how they dreamed.

In the end, the sun had risen and destroyed the night's illusions. Everything had gone as planned, and Lelouch…

He cut down those budding thoughts before they could bloom. Presently, Zero's mechanized voice stated only the brutal, twisted truth. "Kururugi Suzaku is dead, Your Majesty. It was confirmed that he was killed in battle." _He lived for his Emperor, he died for his Emperor, and he lives on for his Emperor._

"…I see. And you are?"

"I am Zero." _I am the Spirit of Justice. I am Lelouch. I am Suzaku. I am both, and neither, and nothing._

Her lips pursed, and her brows drew down in contemplation. The way her shoulders shook told him that she was confused. Nunnally already had suspicions of his identity by now. She could suspect all she liked, but he would never confirm it.

"Then humor me, Zero. Pretend for a moment that you're Suzaku… and tell me why you did those horrible things! I don't want to guess anymore!"

"Kururugi Suzaku is dead, Your Majesty." _He is a ghost among the living. His soul is not his own anymore. Only his body remains here, walking, always walking forward, to lead others to a future he cannot have for himself._

"I know," she whispered brokenly, "I know. Please. Just for a moment, let me hear my old friend redeem himself."

"Kururugi was a complicated man. He was an idealist who placed more importance on his ideals than he did on human lives. He was a hypocrite and a disloyal soldier. He massacred thousands for the sake of peace." _He killed his father for the sake of peace. He killed his best friend for the sake of peace. _

Zero paused, taking in the young Empress' sorrowful expression. "If I were Kururugi, I would say, 'I did it for peace. I followed Lelouch vi Britannia not because we were friends, but because by that point, both our hands had been so stained with the blood of innocents that we could never hope to be forgiven. I knew about the Emperor's final plan – I was his confidant. We played the villains so that they could have their heroes.' That is what I would say."

The secluded hill was silent for the longest time.

When it seemed as if she had nothing to say, Zero shifted, adjusting his cape and preparing to return to the castle. His back to her, the masked figured bade her once more, "We must return now; the meeting is about to commence."

Nunnally clenched and unclenched her delicate hands, kneading the fabric of the dress above her knees until it seemed like it would tear. She shut her eyes tightly, jaw set and trembling. When she opened them, they were bright with unshed tears as she pleaded with the emotionless mask.

"Suzaku!"

Images of Lelouch flashed before his eyes as he replied, "Kururugi Suzaku is dead, Your Majesty. I am Zero."

Zero, wearing Suzaku's body, continued down the hill.

_March forth, soldier, ever forward._


End file.
